BASN’S CFL – FROM THE 55 YARD LINE

PHILADELPHIA (BASN) The 104th Grey Cup will be one of the more unique in Cup history.

The Calgary Stampeders, who did just that in riding roughshod over the League and their opponents all the way to Toronto and the Ottawa Redblacks, who survived a rough patch which included defeating the team who beat them for the Cup last year, will come to blows today at BMO Field.

For Calgary, whose won/loss record of 15 -2-1 punctuated an overall Western Conference dominance, the chance to put their stamp on a run of championships as a league power. The Redblacks resurgence as a returning Eastern Conference champion coming into hosting next year’s Grey Cup could finally stabilize Ottawa once again as a franchise and open the door for expansion as the League can finally secure the tenth franchise (whether that be the Maritimes,Quebec City, Windsor or elsewhere)

Ottawa’s 8-9-1 regular season record belied an amazing offence which generated over 400 yards per game and produced an historic four 1000 yard receivers (one we highlighted earlier this season, Chris Williams, won’t make the final due to injury) and a quarterback in Henry Burris, who may have kicked several ghosts to the curb after defeating last year’s champion Edmonton Eskimos in the East final).

Their season began with Trevor Harris replacing Burris after an injury in the first half of the season opener. Harris did a good job of treading water until the stretch where Burris took over. As a passer whose numbers are catching up to the League’s all-time greats, Burris has only one Grey Cup win in his 17 seasons, but giving the Redblacks a foundation to work with for years to come will have, in some way, a more lasting effect…

After becoming a starter in 2013, Bo Levi Mitchell has emerged as one of the most dangerous pivots in the CFL. A Cup winner in 2014, Mitchell was voted Most Outstanding Player this year. A good combination of arm strength and mobility, the 6’2″, 200 pound QB from Eastern Washington can add another layer to a potential dynasty for the Ponies.

The old school move to have the championship played via the open air BMO Field as opposed to the larger, closed roofed SkyDome is also a different twist. Toronto Argonaut fans seemed to appreciate the more intimate environment as did Montreal Alouette fans playing on McGill University’s home field rather than Olympic Stadium back in the day. So the less-is-more approach seems to be working across the League, especially in the East…

While exposure to the Canadian game has improved South of the Border, current League Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge has done a better job in conjunction with the CFL putting out an overall better product; but the East – West imbalance which led to Edmonton’s crossing over in the playoffs should be a matter of genuine concern…

When it comes to playing the game, I’m for players playing and may the best team win; but as the politics continue, I sense a similar agenda as when Montreal returned to the League after nine years in limbo, and the second time they had failed as a franchise. It is in the best interests of the Canadian Football League to have Ottawa emerge as their champion with a bridge toward balance only a rougeaway…